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What are Vegan Meal Delivery Services?
The plant-based diet is becoming more popular by the day, especially among those looking to add fruits and vegetables to their diet and improve their health. However, prepping and cooking these meals take so much time and require advanced cooking skills.
Plant-based delivery services offer a fast and convenient way to enjoy nutritious meals. These companies deliver meal plans, recipes, and plant-based ingredients to your doorstep. You can use these ingredients to make delicious meals, snacks and nutritional shakes within a short time.
However, not all delivery services offer the same recipes, ingredients, meal plans, and price points.
Best Vegan Meal Delivery Services 2023
- Sunbasket – Best Overall
- Green Chef – Best Variety
- Daily Harvest – Best Frozen Plant-Based Meals
- Sakara Life – Best Plant-Based Programs
- Purple Carrot – Best for Home Chefs
- Veestro – Best Selection
- Hungryroot – Best Meal Plan
1. Best Overall | Sunbasket
Sunbasket offers a full spectrum of cooking options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The delivery service allows you to choose a meal plan that suits your taste and nutritional needs. All their meals use organic and ethically sourced ingredients. They have ready-made meals with the option of choosing add-on snacks and beverages like greens supplement, coffee, gluten-free crackers, and vegan yogurt.
Their meals are also affordable; one serving costs $9.99, four meals $52, and ten meals $100. With this premium delivery service, you can go for months without going to the grocery store.
2. Green Chef
Green Chef stands out among other plant-based delivery services since it uses organic and clean label ingredients for all its recipes. The company releases new menus weekly. The menus are well-rounded and contain premeasured ingredients that minimize prep time. The menus and recipes have easy step-by-step instructions with photos that help you whip up a delicious meal within 30 to 40 minutes. You can access these menus without subscribing. However, you must subscribe if you want to access their delivery services.
3. Daily Harvest
Daily Harvest is a well-known plant-based delivery service. It provides frozen meals, premade soups, and smoothies that you can store in your freezer. The company also offers soups, flatbreads, and healthy bowl options that are well-balanced in flavor. Their ingredients are gluten-free and low-carb, meaning they can support most diet plans. The meals are also affordable smoothies cost $8, flatbreads range from $8-$9, and grain bowls go for $6 per serving. With Daily Harvest, you can incorporate more vegetables and fruits into your diet at a budget-friendly price.
4. Sakara Life
Sakara Life is a holistic company that delivers organic and fully prepped vegan meals. The company offers a range of delectable meals and snacks with nutrient-dense ingredients. All their meals are plant-based, dairy-free, gluten-free, and non-GMO. You can order breakfast, lunch, or dinner throughout the week. You can also subscribe to a range of programs from the company, including a 5-day detox, bridal programs, and a 30-day reset program. During the program, you will receive organic meals and caffeine-free detox tea.
5. Purple Carrot
Purple Carrot is a plant-based delivery service that offers flavorful pre-prepped meals that you can reheat and serve within minutes. The company also provides pre-portioned ingredients with easy step-by-step recipes that you can use to make your meals. The recipes are grouped into different categories such as high-protein, nut-free, soy-free, gluten-free, Chef’s choice, <600 calories, and quick and easy recipes. These recipes are well outlined with pictures, nutritional facts, prep time, and cooking instructions.
6. Veestro
Veestro offers fully prepared organic meals right to your doorstep. The meals are non-GMO and free of preservatives. They are also high in protein, low-calorie, gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free. All meals come fully cooked and frozen; simply thaw and warm your meal. They are also flavorful and light in calories, which helps you lose weight and stay healthy. The meal kit are also cost-effective and designed to promote healthy eating while saving you time in the kitchen.
7. Hungryroot
Hungryroot is a health and wellness company founded by chefs. The company curates a meal plan based on your eating preferences and habits. It has a quiz that asks about your dietary restrictions and the foods you prefer. Once you fill in this information, Hungryroot develops a list of ingredients and recipes that suits your preferences. You can easily swap or delete the ingredients that do not appeal to you, then proceed to check out. Your delivery will come in proportioned ingredients and a detailed recipe that you can use to make a flavorful meal.
Factors to Consider Before Subscribing to a Plant-Based Meal Delivery Service
Quality Ingredients and Nutrients
Plant-based delivery service must use plant-based ingredients for all their meals. They must also use traceable and ethically sourced ingredients. Therefore, go through the ingredient list to ensure you get all the required nutrients.
The delivery services in this review offer quality ingredients. They prioritize whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and plant-based proteins in their meals. This ensures you get all the nutrients your body needs and prevents nutritional deficiencies. [1]
Variety
The company should offer a variety of plant-based meal plans and recipes. They should also offer various flavors, cooking styles, and cuisines. This adds diversity to your meals, making it easy to stick to your diet.
Some services offer gluten-free, low-carb, low-calorie meals that may be preferable to the people on strict diet plans. Some also provide allergen-free meals, which are perfect for people with food allergies.
Portion Sizes
Most plant-based delivery services offer weekly to monthly subscriptions with varying portion sizes. Some offer individual portions, while others offer up to six servings.
Subscribe to a meal delivery service that can cater to the number of people within your household. Brands like Purple Carrot offer up to four servings on all their dinners. However, you can opt for single servings if you live alone.
Sustainability
Sustainability is a crucial factor to consider when selecting a meal delivery service. Unfortunately, most services use excessive single-use plastics and unsustainable packaging that increase waste.
The brands in this review use biodegradable and recyclable packaging. They also use recycled materials for their products. Additionally, the brands feature local ingredients that are more sustainable and tastier.
Cooking Process
Cooking takes a lot of time, and meal delivery services help reduce this time by half. They also make cooking more manageable by offering pre-proportioned ingredients with step-by-step recipes.
Some meals are easier to make, while others require more time and advanced cooking skills. If you want a quick fix, choose meals that are fast to prepare and fit into your schedule.
Customer Reviews
Reading through customer reviews will help you understand every meal’s authentic flavor and texture. It will also help you determine whether the meal delivery service is a good fit. Therefore, keep an eye out for reviews that touch on quality, delivery, and the freshness of the meals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What are the Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet?
A: Plant-based food reduces inflammation and the risk of autoimmune diseases. It also strengthens the immune system and reduces infection. [2] Plant-based diets also regulate blood sugar and reduce the risk of type2 diabetes. [3]
The diet also lowers cholesterol levels reducing the risk of heart diseases. [4] It also contains high amounts of fiber that relieve constipation. Additionally, fruits and vegetables reduce the risk of dementia and cognitive impairment. [5]
Q: What are the Advantages of a Plant-Based Delivery Service?
A: Plant-based delivery services offer pre-portioned ingredients to reduce wastage. They also save you time shopping for meals by delivering these meal kits to your doorstep.
Plant-based delivery services also make losing weight more manageable by providing low-calorie meals. They also make it easier to stick to a healthy diet since all the meals are nutritionally dense as they contain whole grains, healthy fats, fruits, and vegetables.
Q: Are Plant-Based Delivery Services Worth It?
A: Yes, they are. Plant-based delivery services offer a convenient way of incorporating fruits and vegetables into your diet. They also help you discover new flavors and cooking styles. They also provide fully cooked meals that only need reheating, which is convenient for busy people or those who dislike cooking.
Q: Is the Plant-based Diet the Same as Vegan Diet?
A: Both plant-based and vegan diets focus on foods derived from plants such as legumes, whole grains, vegetables, and fruits. However, plant-based diets may also include limited amounts of animal products such as fish and poultry.
Q: Can I take Plant-Based Meals if I Have Food Allergies?
A: Just because a meal service is plant-based does not mean it is free of allergens. Plant-based diets may contain plant allergens such as pea protein, which may induce an allergic flare-up. They may also contain animal products like milk. Therefore, if you have food allergies, go through the ingredient list to ensure that the food has no allergens.
Conclusion
Best vegan meal delivery services offer a convenient way to enjoy simple and delicious vegan meals without spending so much time in the kitchen. However, there are numerous best vegan meal service with varying ingredients, nutritional values, recipes, quality, and price. And only a few offer plan-based options.
This review offers the best plant-based delivery services. Whether you want a fully cooked meal or prefer a meal kit to make your food from scratch, our lineup has the perfect picks. Try Sunbasket, our best overall, or Green Chef for tasty and nutritious meals.
At Wellness Digest, our sourcing guidelines are strict and we only use primary references for our articles including peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.
- McDougall C, McDougall J. Plant-based diets are not nutritionally deficient. Perm J. 2013 Fall;17(4):93. doi: 10.7812/TPP/13-111. PMID: 24361028; PMCID: PMC3854817.
- Watzl B. Anti-inflammatory effects of plant-based foods and of their constituents. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2008 Dec;78(6):293-8. doi: 10.1024/0300-9831.78.6.293. PMID: 19685439.
- McMacken M, Shah S. A plant-based diet for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes. J Geriatr Cardiol. 2017 May;14(5):342-354. doi: 10.11909/j.issn.1671-5411.2017.05.009. PMID: 28630614; PMCID: PMC5466941.
- Hope R. Ferdowsian, MD, MPH (2009) Effects of Plant-Based Diets on Plasma Lipidshttps://www.ajconline.org/article/S0002-9149(09)01099-6/fulltext
- Xian Jiang, Jiang Huang, Daqiang Song, Ru Deng, Jicheng Wei, and Zhuo Zhang (2017) Increased Consumption of Fruit and Vegetables Is Related to a Reduced Risk of Cognitive Impairment and Dementia: Meta-Analysis https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2017.00018/full
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